Nordland. 247 



sent one of his assistants to aid us in the purchase 

 of a few provisions. 



My " old hand " considers he is wise in the matter 

 of food, so I left the catering to him. He purchased 

 at Walkimton's shop coffee, sugar, and a few other 

 necessaries, not forgetting a case of the native ^1, and 

 then proceeded to other shops to procure meat, bread, 

 etc. I entered the butcher's shop, and found him 

 triumphant at having successfully negotiated for a lump 

 of the hock part of a leg of beef. I ventured to 

 inquire if he intended to purchase soup-meat, and was 

 immediately suppressed with the reply, "You don't 

 want to buy bone, do you ? " I guessed that the 

 subject was more tender than the meat, so said no more. 

 He said he was sure we should get nothing in the 

 valley, so laid in a stock of cheese, butter, etc. ; in 

 fact, with the exception of the J^l and beef, he carefully 

 selected such articles which we could have procured 

 of much better quality up-country. However, he knew 

 not that at the time. 



Most people I have met have little fads about food. 

 I must confess to a weakness for marmalade, and my 

 " old hand " cannot exist without cayenne pepper and 

 onions, so we purchased a supply of each and ordered 

 the lot to be sent on board the fjord boat, and repaired 

 to the Grand Hotel for middag. 



